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Meridian Hill Park is unique in that it served as a laboratory for experimenting with a new medium of construction -- concrete aggregate. Concrete aggregate consists of small pebbles specially selected for size and color from which forms are pulled while the surface is still susceptible to treatment. Wire brushing and acid washing are then used to expose the texture.
Perhaps the single most intriguing feature of the park is the thirteen basin cascade fountains that form the center of the lower level formal garden. he fountains are designed with a re-circulating water system which, through an elaborate series of pumps, supplies water to two large circular fountains on the upper level, and cascade found on the lower.
Each cascade bowl flows to a larger bowl as they descend to the bottom. Water fills one bowl, overflowing into the next, until it reaches the large reflecting pool in the plaza. Midway up the cascade to the left was once the site of a small log cabin owned by Joaquin Miller. Called the ""Poet of the Sierras,"" Joaquin Miller was best known for his poem ""Columbus ."" He built and occupied the log cabin during his residence in Washington from early 1883 to late 1885. Miller came to seek political office, but was disappointed in his quest. However, he remained in Washington for some years to carry on his literary work. The cabin stood in Meridian Hill Park for 30 years; when it was threatened with destruction, it was moved to Rock Creek Park by the California State Association in 1912. The cabin is now located on Beach Drive near Picnic Area 6 in Rock Creek Park.
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